Us Human Rights Network

Programs: Earlier this year, the us human rights network coordinated the official u. S. Country visit by the united nations working group of experts on people of african descent. During this visit, we were able to engage hundreds of civil society organizations and individuals directly impacted by human rights violations to share their testimonies with the working group, both during in-person meetings and town halls in five cities across the country, as well as online engagement with many more. The official report of the un working group reflected many of the specific concerns and specific violations that our members had been seeking recognition for, and several have been able to use the official report in their organizing work as they continue to pursue recognition and redress from the u. S. Federal and local governments. The secretariat of the un working group stated that the u. S. Country visit was the best-coordinated and had the most robust civil society engagement of any country visit they had attended. Ushrn and our anchor organizations received written letters of thanks from the chief of the anti-racial discrimination section of the un office of the high commissioner for human rights. The ushrn northeast regional member meeting and human rights tribunal was held in philadelphia, pa in 2016. Participants shared updates and discussed their experiences as human rights defenders, and connected and strategized on collaboration around human rights concerns in the northeast region. The member meeting was followed by a human rights tribunal, during which four jurists - including the chair-rapporteur of the un working group on arbitrary detention, the un special rapporteur on the right to housing, a member of the un working group of experts on people of african descent, and a local city council member - heard and responded to the testimony of community members affected by human rights violations. The statements presented to the panel of human rights experts covered issues of immigrant detention and struggling for worker's rights, the right to an adequate standard of living, housing, education, the right to family, the right to water, and other human rights violations in the region. The ushrn national coalition on the human rights to water and sanitation prepared a successful application for a hearing on the human rights to water and sanitation at the inter-american commission on human rights. This was the first ever u. S. -specific hearing on water and sanitation at the iachr. Members of the coalition who had been impacted by human rights violations testified in person at this hearing, during which u. S. Government representatives were required to be present, hear the testimony of coalition members, and respond to the violations before a panel of experts. Following the hearing, over 40 organizations across the country signed on to a statement by the coalition that called upon the u. S. Government to take immediate action to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights to water and sanitation. One of ushrn's primary leadership development programs is the fighting injustice through human rights education (fihre) held at the highlander center annually to develop the human rights capacity of leaders from diverse movements for social justice. The 2016 fihre program held in june graduated eleven fellows working on a range of issues including immigrants' rights, safety from police violence, education justice, lgbtq rights, housing, protection of civil and political rights, combating islamaphobia, rights of children and families in the child welfare system, and racial justice. Fihre fellows have continued to grow their human rights capacity, as well as their engagement with ushrn, by assuming leadership roles within the network and launching their own campaigns using human rights tools and language.